評論
打印
Scarlett blew her nose on her torn handkerchief, and they started up the dark drive arm in arm, the horse following slowly. Near the house, Scarlett was at the point of speaking again when she saw her mother in the dim shadows of the porch. She had on her bonnet, shawl and mittens, and behind her was Mammy, her face like a thundercloud, holding in her hand the black leather bag in which Ellen O’Hara always carried the bandages and medicines she used in doctoring the slaves. Mammy’s lips were large and pendulous and, when indignant, she could push out her lower one to twice its normal length. It was pushed out now, and Scarlett knew that Mammy was seething over something of which she did not approve.
思嘉用她的破手絹擤了擤鼻涕，然后他們彼此挽著胳臂走上黑暗的車道，那騎馬在后面緩緩地跟著。走近屋子時，思嘉正要開口說什么，忽然看見走廊暗影中的母親。她戴著帽子、披肩和手套，嬤嬤跟在后面，臉色像滿天烏云陰沉，手里拿著一個黑皮袋，那是愛倫出去給農奴們看病時經常帶著裝藥品和繃帶用的。嬤嬤那片又寬又厚的嘴唇向下耷拉著，她生起氣來會把下嘴唇拉得有平時兩倍那么大。這張嘴現在正撅著，所以思嘉明白嬤嬤正在為什么不稱心的事生氣呢。
“Mr. O’Hara,” called Ellen as she saw the two coming up the driveway—Ellen belonged to a generation that was formal even after seventeen years of wedlock and the bearing of six children—”Mr. O’Hara, there is illness at the Slattery house. Emmie’s baby has been born and is dying and must be baptized. I am going there with Mammy to see what I can do.”
“奧哈拉先生，"愛倫一見父女倆在車道上走來便叫了一聲----愛倫是地道的老一輩人，她盡管結結婚１７年了，生育了六個孩子，可仍然講究禮節----她說：“奧哈拉先生，斯萊特里那邊有人病了。埃米的新生嬰兒快要死了，可是還得他施洗禮。我和嬤嬤去看看還有沒有什么辦法。”
Her voice was raised questioningly, as though she hung on Gerald’s assent to her plan, a mere formality but one dear to the heart of Gerald.
她的聲音帶有明顯的詢問口氣，仿佛在征求杰拉爾德的同意，這無非是一種禮節上的表示，但從杰拉爾德看來卻是非常珍貴的。
“In the name of God!” blustered Gerald. “Why should those white trash take you away just at your supper hour and just when I’m wanting to tell you about the war talk that’s going on in Atlanta! Go, Mrs. O’Hara. You’d not rest easy on your pillow the night if there was trouble abroad and you not there to help.”
“真的天知道！"杰拉爾德一聽便嚷嚷開了，"為什么這些下流白人嬤嬤在吃晚飯的時候把你叫走呢？而且我正要告訴你亞特蘭大那邊人們在怎樣談論戰爭呀！去吧，奧拉太太。我知道，只要外邊出了點什么事，你不去幫忙是整夜也睡不好覺的。”
“She doan never git no res’ on her piller fer hoppin’ up at night time nursin’ niggers an po’ w’ite trash dat could ten’ to deyseff,” grumbled Mammy in a monotone as she went down the stairs toward the carriage which was waiting in the side drive.
“她總是一點也不休息，深更半夜為黑人和窮白人下流坯子看病，好像他們就照顧不了自己。"嬤嬤自言自語咕囔著下了臺階，向等在道旁的馬車走去。
“Take my place at the table, dear,” said Ellen, patting Scarlett’s cheek softly with a mittened hand.
“你就替我照管晚飯吧，親愛的，"愛倫說，一面用戴手套的手輕輕摸了摸思嘉的臉頰。
